


save room for us

by moonbend (newlovecassette)



Category: SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Domestic, M/M, Pining, Strangers to Lovers, e rating is for a sex scene at the end but this fic is almost entirely tame
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:54:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23671903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newlovecassette/pseuds/moonbend
Summary: Baekhyun doesn't really want new neighbors. But he ends up liking one of them a lot more than he expected.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas
Comments: 25
Kudos: 141





	save room for us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Galathicc](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galathicc/gifts).



> thank you so much for requesting this fic, and thank you so much for your flexibility with the prompt! i hope this came out well and you enjoy it thank you so much for supporting my work TT____TT
> 
> this came out a lot more domestic and soft than i initially thought but i think im happy with it 
> 
> and to those reading thank you for reading as always U____U <3

Baekhyun has lived in the same apartment building for five years. 

In the middle of a busy, constantly growing city like this, one’s lucky to have a stable place to live. There are a lot of things Baekhyun  _ doesn’t  _ like about his apartment—the loud noises from the bar just below him, the air conditioner that never works, the scary gurgling noise his toilet makes when it flushes—but these are all things he can deal with. 

He has great neighbors too, friendly people he feels comfortable around. It is a little sad, to be living alone at twenty-seven with no romantic opportunities in sight, but he can cope, because most of his neighbors are the same. Taeyeon, from across the hall, works from home and only seems to leave her apartment to walk her dog. His neighbor on his left, Jaehyun, seems to bring home a lot of dates, but it doesn’t seem that many stay. 

And, for a while—there was Chanyeol, in unit 5B, to Baekhyun’s right. But he got a girlfriend, and moved out, and for a month now, the apartment’s been empty as the building desperately tries to find a new tenant. Baekhyun’s been enjoying it honestly, because despite the fact that Chanyeol was a good friend of his, he also had a penchant for having obnoxiously loud sex and yelling all the time, and what Baekhyun really needs sometimes after a long day at work is some peace and quiet. (He still misses him. Chanyeol was a trustworthy, kind person. When he’d left, Baekhynun shed a tear, or two. He doesn’t have many friends, and to see one go hurt. But he has to look on the bright side.)

But, one day, Baekhyun returns home from work to find a stack of cardboard boxes in the hallway. Taeyeon’s standing outside her door, holding her dog, Zero, in her arms, and staring at the now-open door to unit 5B quizzically. 

“Someone’s moving in,” she says to Baekhyun as he fishes his keys out of his pocket. “Two kids.” 

Baekhyun turns to her, confused. “Kids?” 

Taeyeon shrugs. “Like… college aged boys. Maybe a little older. I couldn’t tell. They seemed nice.” She looks up and down the hallway, and lowers her voice. “Hopefully they won’t be too loud. They smelled like  _ weed. _ ” 

Baekhyun cranes his neck, trying to peer through the doorway to see who’s inside. He can hear voices talking, and spots the silhouette of a man in a hoodie trying to set up a router in the corner.  _ Weird.  _ Baekhyun’s not really used to younger people living around here. 

“You gonna go say hi?” Taeyeon asks, scratching Zero on the head. 

“No way,” Baekhyun says. He never introduces himself to people, unless it’s absolutely necessary. Also, he has leftover Meddertanian takeout in his fridge that he’s finding himself desperately craving, like  _ right  _ this minute. He gives Zero a little pat on the head, then heads back into his apartment, his new neighbors already losing priority in his mind to the episode of Survivor that he DVRed the other night. 

Hopefully, this won’t have any real effect on his daily routine. Baekhyun likes his routine too much. If there’s one thing he hates, it’s change. He likes his lonely little life just fine. 

—

The first couple nights with new people living next door are alright. There’s lots of noises of furniture moving, and the walls are thin enough that sometimes Baekhyun can hear faint echoes of laughter and conversation, but that’s all bearable.

Then there’s the music. It starts a day or two after they settle in, and it’s loud, constant, heavy thumping bass playing through the walls. It usually starts in the evening. It’ll begin quiet, as if it’s testing just how loud it can go. Usually, it’s tolerable. Baekhyun can put in headphones, or turn up the TV, if he really has to. But it still persists—getting louder and louder, and the worst is when Baekhyun has one of his post-work headaches, and it starts blaring through the walls until he has to bury his face in a pillow. 

It’s not until a Tuesday night, almost a week after they move in, when Baekhyun’s trying to watch reruns of Dateline and make himself mac-and-cheese, that he decides he’s had enough. The music, what Baekhyun identifies this time as some sort of bass-boosted version of Britney Spears’ classic hit “Circus”, begins echoing through his walls, and he turns around, exasperated. It’s five pm, and he’s had an especially long day at work, including a stupid argument with his coworker about  _ spreadsheets,  _ and he really can’t take it anymore. Baekhyun  _ despises  _ confrontation, truly, and he hasn’t even met his neighbors yet—this will probably make a terrible first impression. But, in all honesty, he’s fine playing up the crotchety next door neighbor role for the sake of his internal peace. What kind of college stoners listen to  _ Britney Spears,  _ anyway?

Baekhyun quickly runs to his bedroom, pulling off his white button-down from his work outfit, and grabbing a band t-shirt from his laundry basket. If he’s going to meet these kids for the first time,  _ and  _ tell them off for being loud, he should at least look a little bit chill and not so stuffy. He throws on a hoodie over the shirt, and then quickly exits his apartment, briskly walking to the next door down, rapping his fist against the door a few times. The music is even louder now, muffled through the door, but truly at unfathomable levels for 5pm on a Tuesday.

No one answers, so Baekhyun knocks again, harder, feeling strangely anxious, and all of a sudden, the door swings open. Baekhyun’s mentally preparing himself to tell these stupid kids off, but the moment he sees the man answering the door, he instantly loses all capability for speech.

Standing there is an absolutely dashing man, probably about 6 feet tall. He’s impressively handsome, with the kind of chiseled jaw and stunning features that Baekhyun could really only  _ dream  _ of. Not to mention, he’s wearing a muscle tee, and his  _ arms,  _ Jesus Christ, he looks like he could lift a truck by pure force, or throw Baekhyun into a wall like a baseball. He looks like a fucking model, perfectly porportioned from every angle, and Baekhyun feels like he forgot who he is. 

“Yo, Hendery, turn the music down,” the man calls out. Baekhyun stares up at him, practically unable to move. “What do you need?”

“I’m-uh…” Baekhyun wrings his hands together, suddenly feeling terrible about the fact that he came over to yell at this  _ incredibly  _ handsome man.  _ Reroute this, Baekhyun,  _ he thinks. “I just wanted to… introduce myself? I live next door. I’m Baekhyun.” 

“Oh!” His neighbor grins at him, and it’s surprisingly adorable. He sticks out a hand. “I’m Yukhei,” he says. “Taeyeon told us about you. She said you’re not very social.”

“Yukhei,” Baekhyun repeats, trying to get used to the name on his tongue. He shakes Yukhei’s hand, realizing just how  _ massive  _ it is in his. His handshake is firm, strong. Baekhyun’s going to faint, at this point.

Someone else walks up next to Yukhei—a shorter boy, who looks at Baekhyun curiously. This must be Hendery. 

“This is Baekhyun,” Yukhei elaborates. “Baekhyun, this is Hendery.” 

Hendery shakes Baekhyun’s hand, still studying Baekhyun’s face with a furrowed brow, as if trying to figure something out that he can’t quite place. “Nice to meet you,” he says. 

“Do you want to come in?” Yukhei asks. 

Baekhyun’s mouth hangs open awkwardly, like a fish, and he crosses his arms. “I—I shouldn’t. I don’t want to intrude.” 

“No, no!” Yukhei puts a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. “Come in! We’d love to meet you.” 

Baekhyun thinks, forlornly, of his mac and cheese and his Dateline reruns, but he figures that can wait. Plus, he still hasn’t even achieved his initial goal of coming here in the first place—telling them to keep the volume down. “Okay, sure,” he says, and does his best “ _ I’m a normal adult who is totally handling this unknown situation with grace _ ” laugh, despite it coming out a little strained. 

Yukhei and Hendery lead Baekhyun into their apartment. It’s sparse, lots of boxes still unpacked. The kitchen is full of half-finished bags of chips, and on the counter is a six-pack of beer, already missing two cans. 

“It’s a bit of a mess,” Hendery says. “We’re still getting settled.” He leads Baekhyun into the living room, where a rather impressive audio setup is playing (now quieter) Britney Spears. There’s a yoga mat on the floor. Baekhyun tries to visualize Yukhei doing yoga in that muscle tee of his, and his brain turns to mush. (No thirsting after your neighbors, he reminds himself.) “Want something to drink?” Hendery asks.

“Oh… uh… sure,” Baekhyun says, and he twists the string of his hoodie between his fingers anxiously. “Are you two… students?” he asks, noticing the open laptop sitting on the couch, and the sprawl of notes on the table by the window. 

“Oh no. Almost,” Yukhei says. “We graduated from the same school a year ago.” 

“Cool, cool,” Baekhyun tries to say with nonchalance, feeling even more like a bitter old man. “What brings you to this city, then?” 

Hendery walks back into the living room, and hands Baekhyun a La Croix. It’s Pamplemousse. Tasteful. “We got hired at this tech startup down here. Figured it’d be easier to live together. We’re like…”   


“Bros for life,” Yukhei finishes thoughtfully. “We were roommates at our fraternity, too.” 

_ Tech bros,  _ Baekhyun thinks.  _ Of course.  _ Strangely, it makes perfect sense. He looks around for a place to sit, but Yukhei and Hendery are both sitting on the couch now. His only option is a bean bag chair in the corner, which he falls down onto awkwardly, almost dropping his drink. It makes him feel obscenely small, and he wonders if after this, if these boys will even want to talk to him again.

“What do you do?” Yukhei asks, donning that friendly smile again. 

“Oh, it’s really nothing interesting,” Baekhyun says bashfully. “I’m just an accountant.” 

“Accountants are  _ dope _ though!” Yukhei says, enthusiastically, like he really means it, and Baekhyun snorts out a laugh. 

“Please.”   


“No, it’s true. The world wouldn’t run the same without people crunching the numbers,” Yukhei says solemnly, and Baekhyun can’t help but smile—there’s something he already finds so deeply heartwarming about Yukhei that he can’t quite place. “Maybe I’ll ask you for help on my taxes this year.”   


Baekhyun wants to say something snappy like  _ I usually charge people for that,  _ but there’s something strangely appealing about the idea of helping some hunk with his finances, so instead, he grins. “Of course. I’d be happy to help.” 

He ends up staying for 30 more minutes. He finds out that the yoga mat is indeed, Yukhei’s, resulting in a demonstration by the man himself that leaves Baekhyun red-faced as he watches Yukhei attempt downward dog right in front of his eyes. (He has very strong thighs, Baekhyun notices. It’s a lot to process.) Yukhei shows him pictures from him and Hendery’s college days, including a video of them pouring Orbeez down the frat house toilet and almost breaking the plumbing system. Baekhyun tries to share things about his life, too, but he realizes there really isn’t much interesting about it, at all. Just stories about his daily commute, or the fact that he still doesn’t know how to drive, or stupid stories about his very pushy control-freak of a boss, Junmyeon. But Yukhei still gives Baekhyun his full attention, nodding and listening like Baekhyun’s a masterclass storyteller.

Baekhyun finds himself strangely drawn to Yukhei, who is one of those people that it’s physically impossible to tear your eyes off of. Not just because he’s so damn attractive, but also because he’s so charismatic—he’s full of energy when he talks, always moving his hands, his face bright and excited about whatever he’s talking about. It’s so hopelessly endearing. If a Golden Retriever came to life and inhabited human form, Baekhyun thinks it’d probably be pretty close to Yukhei. 

When he leaves and heads back to his own sad little apartment, he realizes he never told them to turn the music down. But suddenly, knowing who’s playing it, he doesn’t mind as much. He’s got earplugs by his bed, anyway. 

—

Baekhyun has never really made an effort to be  _ social  _ with his neighbors. Sometimes, Taeyeon will have him over to drink tea and play Mario Kart, but it’s not any sort of routine, just a once-and-a-while thing. Jaehyun is the kind of person Baekhyun only really says hi to in passing, and sometimes, Baekhyun will go over and feed his fish when he’s away, but he wouldn’t call Jaehyun a  _ friend.  _ The only neighbor he was relatively close with was Chanyeol, but that was mostly because Chanyeol had made the active decision that he was going to befriend Baekhyun at whatever cost possible. It was always Chanyeol knocking on Baekhyun’s door, or asking Baekhyun to come over, never the other way around. 

But the more Baekhyun keeps bumping into Yukhei, the more he wants to know him better. It’s odd. On one Saturday morning, he runs into Yukhei while getting his mail. A couple weeks ago, on an odd night after a pay bonus at work and three glasses of wine, Baekhyun had ordered himself a new computer for the sake of being able to run League of Legends without his computer turning into a whirring mess. Baekhyun’s standing by the mailboxes, currently trying to figure out how to get the new PC up the stairs when Yukhei walks in, humming to himself as he twirls his keys around his fingers. He spots Baekhyun, who’s currently trying to lift the box into his arms with very little success, and stops. 

“Hey, Baekhyun,” he says. Baekhyun practically jumps out of his skin, and almost drops the box—which feels like it weighs a metric ton—on his toes. 

“Yukhei,” Baekhyun replies, suddenly feeling very much like a pathetic nerd as he stands there, awkwardly struggling to hold up his stupid new computer.

“Do you need some help?” Yukhei says, taking out his Airpods and clicking them into their case. “I can help,” he reiterates, rolling up the sleeves of his jacket a bit.

“I—uh—” Baekhyun stands there for a second, stuttering around his own words. “Well…” He glances at the rather ominous-looking stairway, and considers the idea of trying to lug this stupid box all the way up there himself. “I mean, if it’s not any trouble.”

“It’s not any trouble!” Yukhei says, almost instantly, and he grabs the box right out of Baekhyun’s hands, like it’s nothing. “Just taking this up to your room, then?” 

“Y-yes.” Baekhyun swallows audibly, and Yukhei just smiles at him. Baekhyun’s starting to realize Yukhei is one of those people that’s impossible to read—the kind of blank slate where you can never really tell what he’s thinking. In a good way, he supposes. 

“Cool, cool,” Yukhei says, and lifts the box like it’s just filled with packing peanuts. “What’s in here?” 

“Computer. For gaming. It’s stupid.” Baekhyun says, watching worriedly as Yukhei starts to jog up the stairs. Somehow, he’s faster than Baekhyun, even when he’s the one carrying something heavy. “You’re so strong. I couldn’t lift that thing at all.”

“Oh, really?” Yukhei shrugs. “I guess I am. I’ve been putting in extra hours at the gym.” 

“The gym,” Baekhyun says, as they reach the second level and turn onto their floor. “I am not very familiar with… the gym.”   


Yukhei laughs. Even his laugh is warm and bright, and Baekhyun feels something weird in his chest, a tight pull like someone wrapped a rope around his heart and tugged.

“You’re funny, Baekhyun,” Yukhei says, and Baekhyun looks back at him and smiles. He shakes off his jacket, pulling out his keys and unlocks the door to his apartment. 

“You can just leave it here, Yukhei,” Baekhyun says. “Thank you.” 

“Aww, but I wanted to see your place!” Yukhei pouts in an astonishingly cute manner, and Baekhyun sighs. 

“Okay, sure.” He swings open the door to the apartment. “It’s really not that exciting, trust me.” 

“I love it.” Yukhei sets the box down on the couch, and turns around as if taking in the non-existent majesty of Baekhyun’s apartment. Baekhyun doesn’t really decorate, and he suddenly feels very self conscious. Should he be paying attention to interior design? 

Yukhei picks up a framed picture that’s sitting on the table next to Baekhyun’s TV. “Who’s this?”   


“My mom,” Baekhyun says, embarrassed. He fiddles with his tie, not sure what to do with his hands. 

“So you’re a mama’s boy, then?” Yukhei grins at Baekhyun. “Me too. I miss my mom so much, man. She used to make me food all the time. Now I just have Hendery, and he’s… well, he’s Hendery. He doesn’t really cook, not like my mom did, at least.” There’s something forlorn in his eyes, and for once, Baekhyun can pick up some emotion from him other than ‘obscenely excited’.

“Ah… that’s a pity, I’m sorry,” Baekhyun says. 

“Oh, it’s fine.” Yukhei runs a hand through his hair, and he glances down at his watch. “I gotta go. But you should have me over, sometime. Also, if you ever need more help carrying things, let me know. I don’t have these guns for nothing,” he says, with a little smug smile, and he flexes his arms for show. Baekhyun tries very hard to control the blush he’s sure is creeping across his face, and he waves goodbye, feeling oddly elated.

That afternoon, as he slowly unpacks his PC, he thinks about Yukhei. Just who is he? And why does Baekhyun feel so drawn to him? It’s been a long time since he felt that pull to someone. Maybe he’s just getting desperate—he’s been single for three years, now. He can’t even remember the last time he got fucked, or even  _ kissed  _ someone. But he’s pretty sure he’d be fine just being friends with Yukhei too—there’s just something about him, in his smile, that Baekhyun can’t put his finger on. It makes him feel a little less lonely. 

He makes a little resolution: get to know Yukhei better. Loosen up a little. It can’t hurt. Even if there’s nothing romantic to come of it—it’d be good to have a new friend. 

—

Baekhyun does not cook. Most of his meals are premade, or take-out. He’s always been a bit of a disaster in the kitchen—Chanyeol once told him that he could probably burn water if he tried hard enough. 

But, Baekhyun is also determined, when it comes to it. Yukhei’s comment about how he misses someone cooking for him keeps ringing in the back of his brain. And even if Baekhyun can’t cook, he can  _ sort of  _ bake, with enough focus. 

That’s how he ends up in his kitchen, wearing his ridiculous “Kiss The Chef” apron, because it’s the only one he has. (It was a gag gift from his friend back home for his 25th birthday). He settles on chocolate chip cookies, because they seem pretty hard to mess up, despite Baekhyun’s incompetence in the kitchen. If he fucks them up, or chickens out, Yukhei never has to know they were for him in the first place. But if all goes well, Baekhyun can play the role of super cool sexy mature boyfriend material who also can  _ bake.  _ Or just friend material. (There’s the chance Yukhei could be straight, and Baekhyun’s trying not to get his hopes up too much.)

He digs all the ingredients out of his cupboards, suspiciously reading each label.  _ Can  _ flour expire? He’s unsure, but it seems fine. In an attempt to crack the eggs into his bowl, Baekhyun gets shells everywhere, and curses as he has to fish each individual shell piece out of the egg yolk. How do people even enjoy this?  _ This is why I’m an accountant and not a pastry chef,  _ he thinks forlornly when he spills granules of sugar all over the floor. 

After much struggle, Baekhyun shoves the tray of cookies in the oven, staring at his mess of a kitchen. There’s a reason he sticks to prepackaged foods, and it’s so this doesn’t happen. He wipes his sticky hands on his apron, and heads to his room, resolving to check in in ten minutes and also, to never do this again.

This particular choice was a mistake. 

Baekhyun is good at a lot of things (not to brag), but if there’s one thing he’s not very good at, it’s keeping track of time. On top of that, he’s also easily distracted, so combined, they often can result in something unfortunate. Like today.

He’s lying on his bed, scrolling through a longform article his mother sent him on an elaborate missing persons case, when his nose suddenly twitches, assaulted by the smell of something burning. 

_ Oh no.  _ He sits up and runs into the kitchen, which is now filled with that trademark greasy burnt oven smell, and several clouds of white smoke. Coughing, he tries to open the window, and winces as the smoke alarm starts blaring at practically deafening levels. “Shit, shit,  _ shit, _ ” he chants, hacking on his own breath ferociously. He opens up the oven door, which really only blasts even more smoke in his face, making his eyes water.

Baekhyun’s so preoccupied by this entire fiasco that he doesn’t even notice when the door to his apartment swings open. “Baekhyun?” a concerned voice calls out, followed by some stuttered coughs. Baekhyun whips around, and through the fog infecting every corner of his apartment, he sees Yukhei, who’s coughing ferociously into his hand.  _ Of course. Of course it’s him. _

“I was baking,” Baekhyun says feebly, over the continuous shrieking of his smoke alarm. “I was making cookies.”

Yukhei runs up to him, putting his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders, wincing from the smoke surrounding them. “Are you okay? I smelled smoke, and, Jesus, how do you turn that damn thing off—” 

He looks up at the ceiling, and swiftly grabs a chair, tugging it over to hop on and slam his fist against the smoke alarm. It keeps beeping, and Baekhyun grabs a towel, weakly attempting to fan away some of the smoke. Finally, there’s a loud cracking noise, and the beeping suddenly comes to a halt. The smoke is starting to fade, though it feels like Baekhyun may have inhaled half of it with the way he keeps viciously coughing.    


Yukhei jumps off the chair, quickly rushing to Baekhyun’s side. “Is everything okay?” he asks, obviously concerned, and he wraps his arms around Baekhyun’s shoulder in a faux-hug. It’s comforting, oddly, but maybe Baekhyun is just touch-starved at this point. 

“I’m good,” Baekhyun wheezes. “I’m just an idiot.” He glances over at Yukhei’s hand, and notices that Yukhei’s holding a broken piece of plastic. “Oh my God, did you break the smoke alarm?” 

“Ah.” Yukhei looks up at the alarm, which now has a few wires dangling out of the broken plastic. “Shit. I  _ may  _ have. Whoops.” 

Baekhyun coughs again, trying not to think about how Yukhei is apparently so strong that he broke the fire alarm with his bare hands. “It’s fine. Never works properly anyway.” The smoke has mostly gone now, leaving only the distinct burnt smell in its wake. Baekhyun stares up at Yukhei, his eyes watering. He’s sure he looks an absolute mess, with his hair all frazzled and his stupid apron on. He takes a step back, fanning a hand in front of his face. “Thank you. For checking on me.”    


“I just was scared you were burning alive in here, or something.” Yukhei glances inside the oven. “Why were you making  _ cookies? _ ” 

Baekhyun’s face flushes instantly. He’d almost forgotten that these were for Yukhei, in the first place, but he’s certainly too humiliated now to ever admit that. 

“I was going to bring them into work,” he says quickly. “As a treat.” He dusts his hands off against his apron, and Yukhei laughs. 

“Kiss the chef, huh?” he remarks, staring at Baekhyun’s chest, where the words are embroidered in bright pink. 

Baekhyun makes a choked noise. “It was a gag gift. It’s my only apron,” he mumbles, cheeks pink. 

“Ah,” Yukhei says. “Pity, then. Was hoping for my chance.” He grins, quirking an eyebrow in Baekhyun’s direction.

Baekhyun stares at him, wide eyed, trying to understand if Yukhei’s implying exactly what he thinks he is, but it seems the moment has passed as quickly as it arrived—Yukhei’s already moved on, back to staring at the broken smoke alarm.

“If the landlord tries to charge you for this, just forward it to me, okay?” he says. 

“Y-yeah.” Baekhyun wrings his hands with the towel he’s still holding. 

“Hey,” Yukhei remarks. “Since your kitchen is all… burnt, want to go get something with me at the diner down the street? My treat. It’s almost dinnertime, anyway.” 

Baekhyun gulps audibly. “Huh?”

“You can’t make dinner in this kitchen,” Yukhei says, bracing a hand against the kitchen countertop. “ _ And  _ I broke your smoke alarm, anyway. I think I owe you one.” 

It feels almost like Baekhyun’s being asked on a date, but there’s still so much platonic friendliness coming from Yukhei that he really isn’t sure. Another Baekhyun, the Baekhyun that prefers to be a hermit and hide from society, would say no, but it’s Yukhei asking him, and he suddenly feels invigorated. 

“Okay. Sure.” He unties his apron, pulling it over his head. “I look like a mess, though.” 

“I think you look wonderful.” Yukhei grins, and he puts his hand on Baekhyun’s arm, squeezing. Baekhyun rolls his eyes, but he can’t contain his smile, either. (He’s finding it’s sort of impossible not to smile around Yukhei.) 

Baekhyun tosses on a jacket, fixes his hair in the reflection of his microwave window, and they head out. It’s a warm evening, the kind where golden light bathes everything, and Baekhyun, despite having almost just burned down his entire apartment building (sort of), feels at peace, oddly. Yukhei chatters on, about Hendery almost breaking the vending machine at work, and about the weather, and it’s really nice to just listen to him talk. 

The diner’s the place where he and Chanyeol used to go for bro-to-bro talks (mostly about Chanyeol’s relationship with his girlfriend), and where he takes Jongdae when he comes to visit. It’s one of those dingy little places where the food isn’t particularly good, but there’s something charming enough about the atmosphere that it’s enjoyable. 

They slide into one of the booths by the window. Baekhyun can’t help but notice that Yukhei looks particularly handsome today, wearing a short-sleeved button down with the top few buttons undone. He’s wearing a shark-tooth necklace, like a surfer from an early 2000s teen drama. It’d be strange on mostly anyone else, but it suits him, somehow.

“Do you come here a lot?” Yukhei asks. 

“Not anymore,” Baekhyun says, flipping through the menu. “I used to. I don’t have anyone to go with anymore, really.” He purses his lips. “Do you?” 

“Well, I just moved here. So I don’t really have anyone to go with, either.” He smiles softly. 

“I’m sure you’ll meet a nice girl to take here, or something,” Baekhyun says, half-joking. 

Yukhei looks almost confused, and his mouth makes a straight line. “I guess so.” 

“Or you could always take Hendery.” 

Yukhei laughs, a delightful little giggle that makes Baekhyun’s heart soar. “Please.” He pauses. “Or I could take you.” 

“Y-yeah,” Baekhyun replies, and he smiles weakly. Yukhei smiles back, and drums his fingers against the table. He opens his mouth to say something else, but the waitress interrupts them, suddenly stepping up to their table, and he seems to forget what he was going to say. 

They place their orders, Baekhyun teasing Yukhei for how much food he gets (“I’m six foot two! I need the calories!” protests Yukhei). 

“Pardon me if it’s a weird question,” Yukhei says when the waitress walks away. “But am I bothering you, at all?”

Baekhyun looks across the table, cocking his head to the side. “Huh?”

“Am I like, too much?” Yukhei grabs the salt and pepper shakers, trying to stack them on top of each other idly. “I’m just… Taeyeon said you’re not a very social person, and you like to be left alone. But I think you’re cool, and I want to be your friend, and to know you better. I just don’t want to be in your business too much, I guess. It was kind of rude of me to barge into your apartment, like that. I just was scared you were burning alive, or something.” 

Baekhyun’s cheeks go red instantly. “No! You’re not—ever—you’re never in my business too much. I’m just a little… socially awkward, is all. I don’t have a lot of friends because I suppose I’m not really interesting enough to befriend, or something.” He dances his fingers against the table’s surface. “I like your company a lot. I’d like to be your friend, too. I’m… a tad lonely, I suppose.” He winces at the added vulnerability, shaking his leg nervously under the table. 

“Okay, okay, cool.” Yukhei sits up straighter in his seat, smiling goofily. “I just wanted to check, y’know.” The salt and pepper shakers topple over from their precarious perch on one another, and he hurriedly picks them back up again. “I’m sorry that you’re lonely,” he adds, and it sounds truly genuine. It stabs Baekhyun through the heart—in a good way, he thinks. A warm ache.

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s just how it is, with my job, and who I am, and everything. I think I was just… supposed to be like this. One of those shut-in types.”

“You don’t have to be lonely,” Yukhei says. “If you decide you’re going to be lonely, you’ll give into the loneliness. Don’t give into the loneliness,” he adds, voice firm, and he looks right into Baekhyun’s eyes encouragingly. 

“You don’t have to be my therapist,” Baekhyun laughs. “You barely know me.” 

“But I’d  _ like  _ to know you! How can you say you’re not interesting!” Yukhei huffs. “You’re handsome and mysterious and extra smart, and you play cool esports video games and bake burnt cookies.  _ That’s  _ someone I’d want to befriend.” He clears his throat, and leans across the table. “This is me, Yukhei Wong, asking you, Baekhyun who’s-last-name-I-don’t-know-yet, to be my friend. Or more.” 

Baekhyun barks out another laugh, astonished. “Okay. I’ll be your friend, Yukhei, geez.” He pauses, right as the waitress walks up with their food. “Hold on,” he says, right as she sets his burger down in front of him, “What do you mean  _ or more _ ?” 

Yukhei’s eyes widen, and  _ he’s  _ the one blushing for once. “I don’t know. Um, best friends, or something.”

“Right,” Baekhyun replies, a little sly smile creeping on his face. “Best friends.”

It’s strange, Baekhyun thinks. He feels less lonely already.

— 

It seems that once Yukhei has Baekhyun’s affirmation that he’s not bothering him, he doesn’t leave him alone. It’s not a bad thing at all. Yukhei comes over on Wednesday nights to watch Survivor with him, and invites him to dinner at the diner after work. He gets all of Baekhyun’s mail for him, and brings it to his door with his signature “are you proud of me” smile on his face. Baekhyun tries to teach him to play League of Legends, which ends unfortunately because Yukhei is not very good at it and very confused by Baekhyun’s sudden investment in the game and his habit for yelling instructions in his ear. ( _ “Right, Yukhei! Go right! What are you doing!? Oh my God, give me the keyboard.” _ ) In turn, Yukhei tries to teach him yoga, which mostly results in Baekhyun gawking at Yukhei as he demonstrates, and curling up into a little ball on the yoga mat when he gets tired. (Which is instantly. Baekhyun gets tired instantly. Yukhei claps over-enthusiastically when Baekhyun completes his first sun salutation.)

Baekhyun finds himself looking forward to Yukhei’s company more than anything these days. He knows he was worried about the idea of new neighbors messing up his routine, but it seems that his routine has just rebuilt itself to accommodate Yukhei instead. 

(“You seem in a better mood lately,” Taeyeon remarks one day when she runs into him in the hall. “I’m glad.” 

“Huh.” Baekhyun smiles to himself. “I guess I have been.”)

There’s really only one problem about Yukhei becoming a common part of Baekhyun’s life, and that’s the fact that it’s getting harder and harder for Baekhyun to ignore his growing feelings for him. Back when he first met Yukhei, he could chalk it up to being a crush, a lighthearted romantic interest that he didn’t actually feel invested in making go anywhere. But the more time with Yukhei—the more Baekhyun  _ notices,  _ and the more he  _ wants.  _

Yukhei is caring and kind and warm in a way Baekhyun hasn’t experienced in a long time. He’s funny, effortlessly entertaining with that big bright smile and loud laugh of his. He’s charming, and he always is looking out for Baekhyun in little ways that go beyond what a casual friend should do—picking up things from the grocery store he noticed were missing from Baekhyun’s kitchen, texting to ask if he’s eaten, or going out of his way to compliment Baekhyun on how handsome he looks.

When Baekhyun sees Yukhei, with his stupidly huge hands and dashingly handsome face, he wonders how it’s even possible not to fall for him on sight. But it’s impossible to tell if Yukhei has remotely similar feelings towards him, and he really doesn’t want to ruin this really good  _ thing  _ they have going right now. Baekhyun can take  _ just friends,  _ even if it hurts. 

_ You’re just lonely and touch-starved,  _ he tells himself.  _ Get a grip. He’s probably straight, anyway.  _

He slides it to the back of his mind, files it away under Thoughts Baekhyun Does Not Want To Face, and he moves on. 

—

It’s a Friday night. It’s been a particularly grueling work week for Baekhyun, with lots of late hours, and he arrives home at 9 PM, exhausted. 

He pulls out a bottle of wine, and he pours himself a glass. Baekhyun’s not really a drinker, but he does enjoy a glass or two of wine every now and then. As a treat. Plus, he deserves it. He’s worked hard. 

He turns on the TV, trying to distract himself with Wheel of Fortune reruns, but his mind keeps wandering to Yukhei, for some reason. (Maybe it’s because it’s all he can think about lately.) When Yukhei had passed Baekhyun in the hallway this morning, he’d said “ _ You’ve been looking extra fit lately! You’re so charming, Baek.”  _ There’s no way that could be platonic, could it? Or maybe, that’s just how bros communicate with each other. Baekhyun never really had the jock type as friends, mostly other nerds and preppy studious kids. Maybe Yukhei just communicates on a different wavelength than he does, and compliments are just part of how he is, or something. 

It’s all so confusing. 

Baekhyun downs his glass of wine, and pours another. 

Maybe he should just  _ tell  _ Yukhei. But telling him raises the possibility of rejection, and even worse, embarrassment. And Baekhyun despises that—feeling embarrassed, feeling humiliated. But it’s getting harder and harder to just wallow in his feelings, to try and fight how fast his heart beats when his eyes meet Yukhei’s. 

He’s just about to pour himself a third glass of wine, when there’s a knock at his door. Perturbed, he stands up, and finds his way to the door, swinging it open. 

Yukhei’s standing there, looking sort of pitiful, doing those puppy-dog eyes that always make Baekhyun feel instantly protective. 

“Can I hang out here for a bit?” he says, twiddling his thumbs. “Hendery has someone over, and he doesn’t want me to be there, because… you know.” 

“You’re sexiled? Come in.” Baekhyun gestures for Yukhei with his hand, and Yukhei shuffles in. “I’m just watching Wheel of Fortune, and um… drinking.” He holds the wine glass up in the air, and smiles, a little crooked smirk. 

“Cool, cool.” Yukhei closes the door behind him, and heads for the couch, collapsing on top of it. “Sorry, I would’ve warned you, but it came by surprise. Hendery went out clubbing, and he met someone, and ended up wanting to take them home, and I was there… so… you know.” 

“And you didn’t go with him?” Baekhyun pulls out a mug from his cabinet (he only has one wine glass, sue him) and gestures to the bottle of wine. Yukhei nods, so Baekhyun brings him over his own little mug of wine. 

“No… I’m not really interested in that. I’m not on the market, I guess.” 

Baekhyun feels a jolt up his spine—of anxiety, or excitement, or something—at that. “Really?” he says, trying to sound casual. He takes a sip of his drink, and turns down the volume on the TV. “I’d think you’d have people all over you.”

“Yeah.” Yukhei stares at him seriously. “I’m just…” He pauses, and then takes a swig of his cup of wine, downing the whole thing in a few seconds.

Baekhyun chokes out an astonished laugh. “You’re just what?” 

“I’m figuring it out,” Yukhei says, face red. “I already have my attention on someone, I guess.” 

_ Oh.  _

“Who?” Baekhyun sputters, but he attempts to regain his composure. “I mean, whatever. Not that I need to know, or anything. I probably don’t even know her.” He swirls his drink in his glass, looking down at his lap—he’s folded his legs up criss-cross-applesauce style on the couch. 

“It’s not a girl.” Yukhei says clearly. “I’m not straight, Baekhyun.”

“I—oh. Sorry.” Baekhyun feels like he’s burning up from the inside, a little bit from the alcohol, but mostly from the fact that it’s eating him alive how much he wants to kiss Yukhei right now, how much he wants Yukhei to say out loud that the person he’s thinking of is him, it’s always been him. 

“People assume, I get it.” Yukhei leans forward, and he puts a hand on Baekhyun’s thigh, leaning forward. “Baekhyun, I—”   


“Yukhei, I like you,” Baekhyun interrupts, words spilling out of his mouth faster than his brain can catch up, and he slaps a hand over his mouth. “ _ Shit. _ ” 

Yukhei blinks at him, once, twice. “Sorry, what?”

“I like you,” Baekhyun says frantically. “I like you, Yukhei, in the I want to kiss you so bad way, and not just because I’ve had two glasses of wine. I think about it all the time. You’re so hot, and so handsome, and so kind to me, and I don’t deserve it at all—”

It’s in this moment that Yukhei surges forward, a little clumsily, and presses his lips to Baekhyun’s. Baekhyun makes a muffled noise of surprise, but it doesn’t take much for him to close his eyes, to let Yukhei  _ kiss  _ him, all soft and sweet and ten times better than anything he could have  _ ever  _ imagined. 

He fumbles to set his wine glass on the coffee table, and cards a hand through Yukhei’s hair, pulling him deeper, as if he could somehow feel more of Yukhei by pressing their lips together even harder. Yukhei sighs into Baekhyun’s mouth, seeming relieved. He puts one of his hands on Baekhyun’s cheek, and pulls their lips apart, looking at Baekhyun with what seems like a galaxy of stars in his eyes.

“I’m sorry,” he says, still so tangibly close. “I don’t know what came over me, I just—”   


“Do it again,” Baekhyun demands, and Yukhei laughs breathlessly, pushing his lips against Baekhyun’s once more. Kissing just feels so  _ good— _ Baekhyun doesn’t know how he went without this for so long, especially with Yukhei in particular. Yukhei doesn’t kiss like the guys Baekhyun’s kissed before, either. There’s no chasteness, or nerves, or uncertainty to his movements—just passion, not particularly elegant, but full of want. He kisses like he’s been waiting for this, been  _ wanting  _ this, for so long. It makes Baekhyun feel gloriously  _ desired  _ in a way he hasn’t felt in a long time. 

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” Yukhei says when they break for air again.

“I really don’t,” Baekhyun says, but he can’t help the smile that breaks onto his face. “How long?” 

“Since you first opened my door, and you looked sort of mad, but also super cute, and you blushed once you made eye contact with me. I remember thinking,  _ wow, this guy is just my type. _ ” Yukhei grins, a little smug. 

“You’re kidding.” 

“Nah,” Yukhei replies, squeezing his hand tighter around Baekhyun’s thigh. “I love little bossy guys like you. Just ask Hendery about my ex-boyfriend.” 

“First of all,” Baekhyun says indignantly, blushing furiously, “I am not  _ little.  _ Or  _ bossy. _ You’re so lucky that you’re hot.” He surges up, pushing Yukhei down against the couch, straddling his waist and smothering him in another messy kiss. Yukhei just laughs against his lips, clearly entertained, and Baekhyun’s stomach feels like it’s full of butterflies, fingertips buzzing with some undefinable energy. 

“Nothing bad about being little,” Yukhei remarks, wrapping his hands around Baekhyun’s waist. Baekhyun rolls his eyes, but he smiles to himself. “Listen, um, I’d like to take this further, but I wanna discuss when we’re both like… in a good state of mind, if that’s cool.”

Baekhyun nods, his cheeks flushed. He looks down at Yukhei, whose lips are kiss-swollen, and who’s staring up at him like he’s looking at some mythical creature. 

“It’s cool,” Baekhyun says. “But one more kiss, please.” 

“One more kiss,” Yukhei replies, and he grabs onto the collar of Baekhyun’s shirt, tugging him down.

—

The next morning, Baekhyun wakes up lying on Yukhei’s chest. It appears they’d fallen asleep on the couch watching TV. There’s something sort of pleasant about it—he can hear Yukhei’s heart beat thrumming in his ears, the warm presence of another body far more comforting than it should be. 

Baekhyun realizes a couple things as he peels himself off Yukhei’s (still sleeping) body.

A.) Right now, he’s happy.

B.) He hasn’t let himself be happy in a long time. 

C.) It’s probably (it’s definitely) because of Yukhei. 

He jabs a finger into Yukhei’s side, where he know’s he’s ticklish, and Yukhei jolts awake with a start, almost slapping Baekhyun in the face. Baekhyun dodges him, giggling to himself.

“Good morning,” Baekhyun says, teasingly. Yukhei makes a whining noise, sitting up awkwardly on the couch and trying to stretch his back. For a second, he looks at Baekhyun with confusion, with a sort of “ _ Why am I here?”  _ face that makes Baekhyun suddenly panic. Baekhyun briefly considers getting up and running out of his own apartment, fearing the worst. What if Yukhei secretly hates him and didn’t mean anything he said last night? What if he’s disgusted with Baekhyun? 

“Good morning,” Yukhei replies, and his eyebrow crooks as he stares at Baekhyun. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Do you still want to kiss me, or was I dreaming?” Baekhyun says, voice feeble. “You don’t hate me, right?”

The corners of Yukhei’s mouth curl into a little smile. “Of course I still want to kiss you,” he says. “And of course I don’t hate you. How can you be one of the smartest people I know, but also one of the stupidest?”

“Chanyeol always said I was mentally smart but emotionally stupid, but I—aah!”    


Yukhei reaches around the back of Baekhyun’s head, and pulls him in for another kiss. He sort of tastes like morning breath, but it’s Yukhei, so none of that matters. Baekhyun relaxes into it, letting out a startled laugh when Yukhei pinches his side. 

Yukhei leans back, but keeps his hands on Baekhyun’s waist. It’s nice to have some sort of steady touch—it’s something Baekhyun’s longed for for a long time. 

“Dude, I want to officially—” Yukhei starts.

“Don’t call me ‘dude’ when you’re confessing to me.” Baekhyun interrupts.

“Right. Baekhyun, just Baekhyun, I want to officially proclaim my feelings for you,” he says, voice shifting to serious, despite the cheeky grin on his face. “I want to take you on a date. And kiss you lots more times. And hold your hand sometimes, if you’re down for it. And also maybe do some other fun consensual things with you if you are down for that, also. But only if you want to do it. You don’t have to say yes to any of it.”

“I want to say yes,” Baekhyun says, softly. “So bad. I mean—are you sure you’re ready for that? With me? I’m old. And boring.” 

“You’re only 4 years older than me, and I happen to find you incredibly interesting. I’m not asking you to  _ marry  _ me, Baekhyun. Just… you know. Try things out, between us.” Yukhei says it like it’s so  _ easy,  _ easy to not overthink everything and to just  _ go with it.  _ Maybe it is. The more time Baekhyun spends with Yukhei, the more he realizes he’s been way too deep in his own head. “Whatever pace you want. I’m down for it all, if it’s with you.” 

“Okay. Try it out. I can try it out.” His hand finds Yukhei’s, and he relishes in its steady grasp, the warmth of his palms. “Let’s take it slow.”

“Take it slow,” Yukhei repeats, and something blossoms in Baekhyun’s chest.

—

They’d been meaning to take it slow. They really had. 

But Baekhyun also hasn’t had dick in a year, and Yukhei is so devilishly charming without even  _ trying,  _ so really, who can blame him for pushing Yukhei up against his kitchen counter and murmuring  _ can you fuck me _ against his lips? 

(Certainly Yukhei can’t, considering that his instant reply was “Oh God yes, please.”) 

It’s only been a week since the Confession, and sure, Baekhyun enjoys dinner dates, and hand-holding, and making out on Yukhei’s couch, but to put it in layman’s terms— _ God  _ is he horny. Yukhei isn’t helping either, with his tendency for sliding a hand up Bakehyun’s shirts when they make out, and his not-so-subtle ass taps when he passes Baekhyun in the hallway. Baekhyun’s a grown man, but he is also a victim of his own selfish monkey brain. Which is horny, and very badly wants Yukhei’s dick in him, like,  _ right now. _

They stumble their way to Yukhei’s bedroom. Baekhyun’s just gotten off work, but he stopped by Yukhei’s apartment first thing, still in his full suit. Yukhei, who had just gotten back from the gym, is still in his workout gear, looking absolutely picture-perfect sexy, and it’s all too much to handle. 

“I thought we were taking it slow,” Yukhei says, locking the door behind them. “Not that I mind the change of pace.”

“I changed my mind, you sexy asshole,” Baekhyun snaps, and Yukhei grins.

“Hendery gets back soon,” Yukhei says as he tries to get Baekhyun’s suit jacket off his shoulders. 

“Well,” Baekhyun says, “He can try being sexiled for once.” He fumbles with his tie, hands shaking a bit, because it’s been so  _ long  _ since he’s done this, and he’s so excited, and a little bit scared, too. 

Yukhei just grabs onto the tie, and pulls Baekhyun up for a kiss, and  _ wow— _ this is how Yukhei kisses when he really  _ means  _ it. His tongue slides into Baekhyun’s mouth, and Baekhyun groans a little, so desperately riled up. Yukhei’s fingers fumble with the buttons of Baekhyun’s dress shirt, as Baekhyun tries to slide Yukhei’s tank top off his chest. 

“I have condoms,” Yukhei says, face flushed with desire. “And lube. They’re both new, I uh, bought them last week when we, uh—”

“For me?” Baekhyun snorts, and laughs at how Yukhei’s face crinkles in embarrassment. “You’re cute.” 

“Am not,” Yukhei insists, and he grips Baekhyun’s waist, pushing him down against his bed, tonguing into Baekhyun’s mouth again. He stands up, letting Baekhyun adjust himself against the pillows, and pulls his shirt off all the way, reminding Baekhyun just how  _ built  _ he is, rock-hard abs and everything. He’s had a glimpse or two of Yukhei shirtless, both times by accident, but to be living the real thing, just for his eyes to see—it floods him with a desperate  _ want.  _

“See? Not cute,” Yukhei says with persistence, gesturing to his stomach. Baekhyun’s fingers stumble as he finally undoes his tie and tosses it to the side, and he props himself up on his elbows. 

“You might have a point.” Baekhyun gestures for Yukhei to come closer, and once he’s near enough, he reaches up to grab for Yukhei’s signature shark-tooth necklace, looping a finger around it and tugging on it to bring Yukhei closer to him. He kisses him, again, because it’s impossible to ever kiss Yukhei too many times.  Yukhei crawls on top of Baekhyun, and pins him down against the pillows, staring at him with that wide-eyed, enthralled look that Baekhyun’s seen him make so many times lately. It’s the way he stares at Baekhyun when he thinks Baekhyun’s not looking. Like he’s in  _ love,  _ or something.

“Stop staring,” Baekhyun mutters, embarrassment crawling up the skin of his neck. 

“Can’t help it,” Yukhei says in reply, and Baekhyun just rolls his eyes, a weak defense mechanism to cope with the fact that his heart is leaping into his throat. Yukhei reaches over to his bedside table, and pulls out a bottle of lube and some condoms. “Do you want me to, um... be on top?” 

“I said I wanted you to fuck me,” Baekhyun returns quickly. “You do the math.”

“Got it.” Yukhei grins down at him, and tugs his shorts down. 

Baekhyun jankily pulls his own pants down, suddenly feeling so small, and so nervous—it’s been a while since he’s done this, and there’s so many little doubts dancing in the back of his brain.  _ What if I’m not enough? What if I’m not good? Can’t he do better than me?  _

Then again, Yukhei is above him, looking at him like Baekhyun’s the only man to exist in the world, and Baekhyun feels okay again. 

“Hey,” Yukhei says, somehow sensing Baekhyun’s anxiety, “We don’t  _ have  _ to do this, if you don’t want to.”

“No, I do,” Baekhyun rushes out. “It’s just… been a while, for me. Nerves, I guess.”

“It’s okay. I got you, don’t worry,” Yukhei says, and he places a steady hand on Baekhyun’s arm, tender and kind. Baekhyun really does forget how good the touch of another person can be, especially if it’s Yukhei. 

Yukhei pulls Baekhyun’s boxer briefs down, and drizzles lube on his fingers. “Can I prep you?” he asks, a little cheeky smile crawling back onto his face.

“Please,” Baekhyun replies, sure he’s flushing ear to ear, and also a tad worried that maybe he ruined the pace of everything by getting all anxious—they’d come in here in such a flurry, and now it feels sort of gentle and slow. Not that Baekhyun minds. It hasn’t taken him long to realize that really, as long as he's with Yukhei, he’s probably going to enjoy it, whatever  _ it  _ is. He just hopes Yukhei enjoys it too. “Just be careful with those monster fingers of yours,” he adds.

“Got it.” Yukhei presses a hand between Baekhyun’s legs, encouraging him to open them wider, and Baekhyun bites his bottom lip as he feels Yukhei’s finger prod at his entrance. 

_ God,  _ he forgot how good this is, how good it is just to be  _ touched,  _ and he inhales sharply when Yukhei starts pushing his finger in, stealing all the breath from his lungs. 

“Oh  _ fuck _ ,” he groans, sure his dick is probably already getting embarrassingly hard.

“Do you ever finger yourself?” Yukhei asks, casually, as he wiggles his finger against Baekhyun’s inner walls. 

“Sometimes,” Baekhyun stutters. “Don’t have hands like you do, though.” The finger pushes deeper, even deeper, and a familiar burn crawls all the way up Baekhyun’s spine. He draws in a breath. “What? Do you?” he returns jokingly, despite the fact that he’s aflame with desire. 

“Yeah,” Yukhei says, effortlessly. 

Baekhyun chokes out a laugh at the image of Yukhei possibly ever fingering himself. and actually, now that he thinks of it, that’s kind of hot, and his face burns even redder. One of these days, he’d like to fuck Yukhei, too. “Another finger,” he demands. 

Yukhei bends down and places a kiss on Baekhyun’s collarbone. He crooks his pointer finger, right up against that  _ spot  _ inside Baekhyun that makes him see stars for a second, and Baekhyun bites back a moan, right as Yukhei presses another finger at his entrance. It pushes in, and Baekhyun feels like his whole body is crackling with fire, with need.  _ I could probably come from just this, _ he thinks, as Yukhei scissors his fingers lightly inside him. He reaches up, and digs his fingers into Yukhei’s shoulder, like it’ll steady him somehow if he grips hard enough. 

There’s no music playing (Baekhyun’s sex playlist is burned on a CD he’s pretty sure is buried somewhere in his closet), the only sound his own soft moans and Yukhei’s gentle breathing. He kind of likes it like this—intimate, simple. He can see Yukhei’s face over him, the way his eyes narrow with focus, and his stomach flip-flops with a feeling he can’t even name. 

“You feel good?” Yukhei asks, and he curls his fingers up again, drawing a loud noise from the back of Baekhyun’s throat. Baekhyun nods, confidence rising in his chest again when he sees how Yukhei looks down at him, his own desire visible in his eyes. 

“Kiss me again,” Baekhyun orders, grabbing the back of Yukhei’s neck and pulling him down closer so he can slide his tongue into his mouth. Yukhei twists his wrist, movements getting faster, and Baekhyun pants into his mouth needily as Yukhei stretches him open. He already feels on the fringe of coming undone, something building in the pit of the stomach. “I’m ready,” he gasps out. “Please, I’m ready.” 

Yukhei kisses him one more time, and he pulls his fingers out, leaving Baekhyun buzzing with anticipation. He bites his lip as Yukhei tugs his underwear down, his cock springing against his stomach, already hard.  _ Oh.  _ It’s big, bigger than any guy Baekhyun’s been with, and that just makes his head spin even more, overcome with how badly he needs it  _ in  _ him. 

“Holy shit,” Baekhyun says, with a strained laugh, “I am  _ never  _ letting you go.” 

Yukhei blushes, and it’s sort of insanely adorable. “I thought you liked me for my personality, Baek,” he jokes, tearing open a condom packet. 

“Well, that too,” Baekhyun defends. “I’m just saying. I lucked out with you.”

“Yeah, you did,” Yukhei retorts smugly, and Baekhyun lightly kicks him in the leg.   


“Hurry up and put your dick in me, stupid.” 

Yukhei tries not to smile, (but fails), as he rolls the condom on. He looks down at Baekhyun with his usual ‘hopelessly endeared’ smile, which is cute but not very sexy, so Baekhyun wraps a leg around Yukhei’s back to pull him closer. Cautiously, Yukhei lines his dick up with Baekhyun’s asshole and—he pushes in, slow and steady, and it’s instantly so, so wonderful.

Baekhyun groans as Yukhei sheathes himself inside, his chest heaving. It’s so much—he feels so  _ full  _ instantly, the sensation of the stretch spreading to the tips of his fingers. It’s in this brief moment, looking up at Yukhei’s closed eyes and his parted lips, that Baekhyun realizes that they’re currently doing  _ missionary  _ like some boring married couple, but he finds that he doesn’t mind it at all, really. He can look at Yukhei’s stupidly handsome face, watch as his biceps flex when he pushes his dick all the way in—and yeah, it really isn’t so bad at all. 

Baekhyun wraps his leg fully around Yukhei’s back, his toes curling as Yukhei gets balls-deep inside him. “Move, please,” he says, arching his back off the bed a bit as if to force Yukhei’s dick deeper inside him.

“God, you’re so tight,” Yukhei says through his teeth, and Baekhyun, feeling impatient, clenches around his dick like a warning. Yukhei hisses in pleasure, and he braces his hands by Baekhyun’s head, pulling his hips back just as slowly as he’d pushed in. 

“C’mon,” Baekhyun says, almost petulant, and Yukhei grins at him, suddenly rolling his hips forward in a way that makes Baekhyun practically forget who he even is for a second. Yukhei starts building a pace, dragging his cock in and out, and Baekhyun moans deliriously—this is exactly what he was looking for, what he needed so desperately. He digs a hand into the sheets, curling his fingers hard into the fabric, breathing losing rhythm, as Yukhei fucks into him so hard he practically slides up the bed a little. 

He motions for Yukhei with his other hand, and Yukhei dips down to kiss him again, a little sloppy as their bodies are both frantically trying to move together. Baekhyun grips onto the headboard with his hand, and winds another around Yukhei’s neck and into his hair, moaning into his mouth like a fucking  _ animal.  _

“Harder,” he says teasingly, between gasps for breath, and Yukhei looks at him, challenging. He thrusts forward, jerking his hips up just so that his cock drags along Baekhyun’s prostate, and instantly, Baekhyun cries out, holding onto the headboard for dear life as pleasure swarms his entire body. “Oh my god, more of that—” 

Yukhei does it again, and presses his chest against Baekhyun’s, biting into his shoulder. He’s moaning too, mumbling something about how tight Baekhyun is, and how good he feels, and that only serves to make Baekhyun more needy for everything Yukhei has to give him. He tries his best to roll his hips back onto Yukhei’s cock and he feels his own dick rubbing against Yukhei’s stomach, which makes him  _ whine,  _ unable to think about anything but how good it all feels. Baekhyun really can’t believe how good it is, how good  _ Yukhei  _ is, and he really doesn't know how he went so long without this. 

Yukhei grabs one of Baekhyun’s legs, and kicks it over his shoulder, giving him a new angle to thrust into Baekhyun. Baekhyun makes a surprised noise—the new angle is so much, each thrust punching into him where he needs it the most, and it overwhelms him.  _ I’m going to get addicted to this,  _ he thinks.  _ But I don’t think that’s a bad thing.  _

Yukhei folds Baekhyun’s leg against his chest, and leans in close enough to kiss him, another time, because they really can never kiss each other enough, anyway. “I’m close,” Yukhei says against his lips. “Are you—”

“Me too,” Baekhyun says, followed by a moan as Yukhei circles his hips. “Fuck, fuck, Yukhei, please, touch m—” 

Yukhei, somehow perceptive enough to pick up on Baekhyun’s nonsense-sex-speak, wraps a hand around Baekhyun’s cock, jerking him off without any finesse. Combined with the way Yukhei’s slamming against his prostate, Baekhyun feels like he’s about to ascend, and suddenly, he chokes out a moan, fingers slipping from their grip on the headboard, and he’s  _ coming.  _ Yukhei fucks him through it, the oversensitivity making Baekhyun shiver, and then Yukhei comes too, hips stuttering to a stop as he buries his face in Baekhyun’s neck. 

It takes a moment for them both to come back down to Earth, the former fire in Baekhyun’s veins fizzling away as he finally lies there, sated. But, soon enough, he can feel how heavy Yukhei is lying on top of him, and he also feels sweaty and kind of gross (though extremely happy) and he nudges Yukhei with one of his hands. 

“You’re heavy,” he grumbles. 

“Sorry,” Yukhei says sheepishly, and he pulls out, tying up the condom and tossing it in the trash by the bed, rolling onto his side so he can wrap his arms around Baekhyun. He presses a kiss to Baekhyun’s neck, warm and tender. “How was it?”   


“Very good,” Baekhyun says. “My muscles feel like they’re made of jello.” 

“Is that a good thing?”   


“Definitely.” Baekhyun flops over so he can face Yukhei, who’s making that  _ face  _ again, where he looks at Baekhyun like Baekhyun’s the only man in the world. “Stop looking at me like that,” he remarks, poking Yukhei in the nose. 

“Like what?”

“You know… with those lovey-dovey eyes.”

“This is just my face,” Yukhei remarks, but he smiles, crooked. 

Baekhyun’s about to lean in and kiss Yukhei another time, when a voice shouting from outside the closed door of Yukhei’s bedroom interrupts them.

“Are you guys done yet?” The voice is very distinctively Hendery’s, and Baekhyun feels a heat crawl up his neck, face flushing instantly.

“I told you,” Yukhei says with a laugh, and the two of them scramble to pick up their discarded clothes from the floor. “We’ll be right out!” he shouts. “Sorry!”

“You better have clothes on,” Hendery yells back, muffled.

Baekhyun shoves his legs into his pants, smirking as he watches Yukhei struggle to find where he threw his underwear.

_ I like this a lot,  _ he thinks.  _ I like him a lot.  _ Happiness feels a lot better than he remembered.

—

_ (It takes one year and two months for Yukhei to finally move into Baekhyun’s apartment. One year, two months, plenty of dates and awkward surprises, and at least one or two instances of Hendery walking in during compromising situations.  _

_ But, a year and two months. Every minute worth it.  _

_ Baekhyun finds that sharing a bed with someone you care about a lot, who cares a lot about you too, is a pretty good solution to loneliness. _

_ It’s funny how that works.) _


End file.
